Alex Burman ’16, Francis Lee ’16: The 6’ 1” sharp shooter and Co-Captain of the Churchmen basketball team Chris McNeal ’14 has been named Boys’ Athlete of the Month.
McNeal may have topped his performances from last year, where he earned All Inter-Ac, All Mainline, and Third Team All Delco averaging 14 points per game in the season and an average of 17 points per game during league play. He has since earned second team All Inter-Ac for his efforts this year. Recently, the shooting guard led the team to a 70-64 victory over our arch rival Haverford, contributing three three pointers, two of which were in the fourth quarter, and a total of 14 points. The Churchmen basketball team is 16-7, as of Febuary 11, looking to win out and top their record of 15-9 from last year. With the conlcusion of its league schedule, the team has posted their best in league record (6-4) since 2008. McNeal pointed out some of the factors behind the team’s success this yearns that hard work and dedication is the reason for their success. He stated, “It takes a lot of dedication and effort, our practices are intense and we compete a lot.” The Collegeville resident added, “You have to focus and understand how we have to play and what we have to do to win.” McNeal emphasized the importance of preparation and scouting, saying, “You have to understand the players on the other team and prepare for each team and just try to out work them in the end.” The Co-Captain has a positive outlook on this year and many years to come for the basketball program, adding, “This year [has gone] great, being able to be a captain and help lead the team. We lost some really tough games but still have a really good record and have had some big wins against tough teams and won a pair of tournaments as well.”
Photo courtesy of Lisa Florio
Chris McNeal was pleased with the team’s level of success this year. He spoke highly of his teammates and their efforts, stating, “This team has been better than the past couple years and as a program we have been improving greatly every year and should continue for years to come.” The senior has been attending Episcopal since pre-k and has had a passion for basketball throughout those 13 years. “I’ve always loved basketball since I was a kid. Going through lower and middle school at Episcopal, going to the games and seeing great players and teams and the whole tradition of EA sports, especially basketball, just made me dream to be a part of it one day and wear the uniform. That’s a huge motivator for me to be a better player.” McNeal mentioned that basketball has always been a big part of his life. He said, “I’ve been playing since I was around 5. I’ve played on multiple travel and summer league teams and I played AAU basketball for the King of Prussia Patriots. I played for EA in middle school and we were really good especially my 8th grade year when we went undefeated. And the coolest thing is that some of my teammates from 8th grade are still a part of the program, like Connor [Martin ’14], Richie [Palazzese ’14] and Terrell [Smith ’14].”
McNeal has definitely carried his hard work through his high school career and looks forward to playing basketball at the next level for Dickinson College. The future Red Devil has been managing his time on the court and in the classroom well and said that he is excited to continue that for the next four years in college. Though sad to retire the blue and white, he looks forward to a prosperous four more years of collegiate basketball. Co-Captain Connor Martin spoke about McNeal and the characteristics he will miss most. Martin stated, “I’ve been playing with Chris since 6th grade, and I’ve loved every minute of it. He’s a humble, team player, but also one of the toughest competitors I know. Ever since middle school basketball, we always pushed each other, dreaming of some day being co-captains and I’m going to miss playing with him a lot.”